Fog of War
by Tealfeather123
Summary: One minute, the 220th Pennsylvania was about to be overrun by a charging enemy regiment, the next they were standing in the middle of a field, in a world of talking ponies. A place where harmony and peace exist, but not for long. For the sound of the drums of war are ringing and its heading for Equestria.
1. Chapter 1

**The events in the start of the story are fictional. None of the characters actually exist and is a figment of the author's imagination.**

**Another Human in Equestria Fic XD Don't worry, I haven't forgotten From the Stars. I would be updating that one later, or at some point of time.**

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><p><strong>Fog of War<strong>

**By**

**Tealfeather123**

**Chapter 1**

The sound of battle echoed around them, as the misty gray smoke covered the field in front. Sounds of rifle fire could be heard, as the distant roar of canons ring in the air. But despite all of these horrible sounds, the men of the 220th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment stood tall and ready, as they waited for the onslaught to come. Their blue uniforms were clean and spotless, yet it had the small hint of ware, that could only be gained in a fight. The taters on the cloth showed the experience gained by every man in the regiment. Holes and rips could be seen, made by the waves of battle, while their boots were worn and battered, after the long marches made by the regiment. Their rifles were held steadily, by hands that have been trained and drilled to do so, as they waited for the orders to use them. The sound of battle would have frightened any man, who had not been to battle before, but the boys of the 220th held their ground and stayed calm. They have been through battle before and today was no different. Although they looked tired and weary, their eyes wanting to close as their muscles ache, their spirits wanted nothing but to fight. These were some of the most experienced men in the Union army and no matter what happens they will fight.

Their officers kept the line straight, making sure that there were no gaps, as they stood and wait. The line of men, who stood on the field, were the weary few who were left. A few months ago, there were more men who composed the ranks of the many. But they were slowly reduced, because of the cruel nature of war. This group of four hundred men and officers have gone through combat and had formed a bond that could never be broken. They experienced and lived through the same horrors and shall die together as one, when the time comes.

Leading these men was a tall and thin man from Pennsylvania named Colonel Newman. Unlike other Union Colonels, Newman wore a black Confederate Cavalry officer's hat, which he picked up during the regiment's first engagement. He took the hat, when enemy cavalry charged them head on, only to be stopped by his men. He then started wearing it, as a testimony to his regiment's accomplishment. This also made his regiment happy, since it showed how proud their colonel was about the regiment. Whenever they saw the Union officer wearing a Confederate, the automatically knew that it was their colonel.

Newman, like most of the men in the regiment, joined this fighting force when it was first mustered. Only six months ago, then men with him were a rag tag group of volunteers who hardly knew how to fire a rifle, let alone fight. Being an officer in the army, Newman knew that he had to train them and train them quick. Yet, at the same time, he had to be patient with them. He knew that being on a soldier's good side was one of the things needed to become a good officer. An officer needs to be trusted by his men, not hated. So he treated the men like his own, guiding them, while at the same time reprimanding their mistakes. He thought them what he knew and trained them till they were experts with the rifle and bayonet. Like many officers in the Union army, he managed to turn a group of sloppy men to a deadly fighting machine.

When the time of battle came, the men followed his orders and did not hesitate to execute them. The fierce and savage battles they have encountered further strengthened the bond, making Newman a father figure for the regiment. Now they stood in a field once more, ready to face the enemy in another battle.

As the sound of rifle fire intensified, Newman squint his eyes and looked at the battle in front of him. His regiment was assigned to hold the center, as the enemy forces advance upon them. Positioned in front of them, firing long range shots, was a company of sharpshooter, from the 1st United States Sharpshooters. Their silhouettes could be seen through the smoke, as the green coated men took pot shots at the advancing enemy.

But Newman noticed that the silhouettes were getting closer and closer, till he saw the sharpshooters race through the smoke. They turned around to fire, once in a while, before falling back towards them. This was a sign that the enemy was advancing closer towards them, since the sharpshooters were ordered to avoid hand to hand combat.

But the sharpshooters soon gave up on this tactic of fire and retreat and decided to sprint towards them. One of the sharpshooters, a man younger the Newman yet older than most of his soldiers, shouted as he ran. Seeing that the man had a sword dangling from his waist, Newman concluded that this must be their company commander.

"One regiment, coming in fast!" He shouted towards them. He and his men soon joined the ranks of the 220th, while the officer headed towards Newman.

"Sir…" He said as he saluted Newman with one hand and held his rifle with the left hand. "…Captain Wilson, sir."

Newman saluted back, as he looked at Cpt. Wilson and studied him. He seemed to be the common age for Captains, not to young and not to old. Seeing how this war was going, Newman knew that Wilson would at least make Colonel before it is over.

"Got anything to report Captain?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." He said, before pointing towards the thick cloud of smoke that lay in front of the regiment. "There is an entire regiment of rebels coming this way. I counted at least five hundred, but they seem inexperienced to me, seeing that their taking their time to get here. It's only now that they decided to pick up the pace. From what I'm seeing, those are raw recruits, but a lot of them. At least we took some of them down for you, sir."

Newman nodded and smiled. Giving the Captain a pat on the back, he pointed towards a small rise just behind the regiment. It was too small for the regiment to use, but it was a perfect place to position a company of sharpshooters.

"Good job, Captain…" He said. "…but I think I still require your services. You see that small rise over there? I would like you to position your men there, so they can support my regiment."

Studying the rise, the Captain smiled with glee and nodded. "Yes, sir. It looks like a perfect place to pick off some rebels." With that, the Captain saluted Newman before gathering his men and sprinted towards the small rise.

"Seems like we're in for a fight, Colonel, sir." A man from behind said. Turning around, Newman saw the face of Sgt. Johnson, the regiment's color sergeant. "Five hundred men, whew. That's going to be a tough one, sir. One hundred more men than we have."

Newman looked at the man he trusted the most, who held the stars and stripes, which was worn out and had bullet holes, and was in charge of guarding it with his life. Sgt. Johnson was one of the men who helped him in the early days of the regiment and was also the one he entrusted most of the orders with. He was also the Colonel's best friend, also being the one to help him in troubled times. Newman trusted the Sergeant with his life, so it was not surprising when Jonson was chosen to be the color sergeant.

"That may be, but you heard the Captain, they're raw recruits. So let us welcome them to the horrors of war." He said, grinning.

The sound of drums could soon be heard, through the sound of gun, as the earth below them started to shake. It shook from the steps taken by the enemy, who was advancing towards them and was only concealed by the fog of war, the smoke the lay in between them. It felt stronger and stronger as the drums beat louder and louder. From experience, Newman and his regiment knew that the enemy would soon reveal themselves.

"Alright boys!" Newman shouted, as he pulled out his saber from his scabbard. "Fire by company and show them how we Pennsylvanians fight!" This was met by a short, yet loud, cheer, as the men got ready. Newman heard the individual company commanders prepare their men, as they waited for the enemy.

"Present arms!" A Captain said, as the sound of the rifles echoes through their ranks. The familiar sound was like music to his ears. Soon every company had their rifles presented, waiting for the order to fire.

Looking through the smoke of gunpowder, that was now starting to clear, Newman could see the first signs of the enemy. Soldiers, dressed in gray uniforms and holding their rifles, marched at double time, as the drums urged them forward.

Bang!

The sudden roar of riffles firing at once, created a loud roaring sound across the regiments line. A wall of bullets flew towards their enemy, who barely had time to form a proper line of battle in front of them. The smoke from the rifles flew in front of them, creating a temporary wall that blocked the view of the enemy. Immediately, the men began reloading their rifles, taking out a paper cartridge and pouring its contents in the gun. Using the ramrod to shove the bullets in, before cocking the rifle's hammer, aiming the gun and firing it at the target. This was all done in a fast paced motion, as the sound of ramrods going in barrels and rifles being cocked filled the air. Months of practice have trained the men with this system, till it was indoctrinate in their heads. But the taste of combat showed them how to do this while under fire.

Officers encouraged their men and pointing out targets, as they waved their sabers and shot with their revolvers. This was a system that works for every Union regiment; this was the system of a fighting force.

But the sound of guns firing was not the only noise that filled the air that day. Once the enemy regiment formed up, they began to shoot back. Their bullets hit a few men that got in its way, causing them to scream in pain, as the bullet tore through their flesh and broke a bone. The scream of agony echoed on both sides, as men from the regiment and the enemy started to fall, soaking the grass with blood.

But the enemy regiment, being new and ill experienced, was disorganized and confused, as they confronted battle for the first time. Their fire was sporadic and although they hit a couple of men, the shots was barely deadly.

Compared to the fire of the 220th, which cut down their ranks and broke their lines, the enemy was ineffective. Their men soon started to fall back, as their comrades were gunned down by superior fire. They started to run back to their lines, as their officers urged them to reform the line. But the voices of their commanders were left unheeded, as the men ran away.

One man, holding the regimental flag, tried to urge the other back. But he was struck down by a bullet and fell to the ground. His hands held tightly on the flag, till another soldier took it and retreated. Newman could help but feel sorry for the enemy, knowing that brave men from both sides had to shed blood for someone to win.

As the enemy begun to fall back, cheers of joy ran through the ranks of the regiment, as they watched their foe run away from them. "That's right, go run away!" A soldier cried out, as he shook his rifle at them.

"Alright, keep the men in order." Newman said, as he scanned the field in front of him. The field was once more covered in smoke, as the sounds of cannon balls flying and exploding can be heard in the distance. More rifle fire could be heard from both of their flanks, stating that the fighting there was getting intense. Newman knew that the fighting was not over. They were going to come back, this time with more force. "I want all rifles reloaded; we don't know what would hit us next."

His orders were immediately followed, as soldiers begun reloading their rifles, shoving another bullet and cocking the hammer. Soon the entire regiment was ready, ready for another shot at the enemy.

Scanning left to right, he saw his men with arm's shouldered and waiting for his command. Some of the wounded were moved away towards the back, so that they wouldn't get hit again. They would later be treated and sent to a medical tent, since there were no men to spare for stretcher bearers.

"Colonel, sir!" Sgt. Johnson shouted. Newman immediately looked towards him and noticed Johnson pointing towards the front. So when Newman looked that way, his eyes met another wave of enemy soldiers that was heading towards them.

But this time it was different. Looking towards the enemy, Newman noticed that they move faster and in an organized formation. Their uniform looked worn, just like theirs, while their faces showed no fear. Newman soon realized that this was a new regiment. A regiment more experienced and ready to fight. Their flag, torn up just like his regiment's, flew up above and showed of the battles it survived.

As the enemy got closer, an officer waved his saber and pointed it towards them. He then charged with full force, which was soon followed by the rest of the regiment. Although this regiment was smaller, compared to the earlier one, they were also deadlier. They knew how to fight and they were not afraid to show it.

They charged at great speed, like lightning through a stormy sky, as they closed the distance. As they charged, they let out a high pitched yell, which would scare any veteran soldiers. It was the 'Rebel yell'. The yell that frightened anyone to the bone and sent a chill down once spine. The yell that broke moral and sent men running.

But Newman was going to have none of that. He told his men to hold easy, and ordered them to wait for his command to fire. He watched as the enemy charge with ferocity and grace. The came with bayonets ready and rifles loaded. They were planning to go head on in hand to hand combat. But Newman was planning to disappoint them, by sending a wall of bullets once they got close. Like a kick of a donkey, it would send them back.

As the enemy approached, the misty smoke of rifle fire, from the regiment to their left, blew in front of them. It blocked his, and everyone else's, view of the enemy. This meant that the only way to judge their distance was from the sound of their steps and yell, which wasn't very effective.

This annoyed Newman, who knew that the regiment was facing life or death. But he knew that he could do nothing about it.

Newman closed his eyes and concentrated. He could hear the yell become louder and louder, till it felt like it was in front of them. Opening his eyes, he waved his saber and gave the order. "Fire!" He shouted, as another tremendous cloud of smoke covered their view. He then heard the sound of rifles frantically reloading, as they waited for the enemy to emerge from the mist. Readying his saber, he waited to stab the first man to come out.

But none came. He waited, with great anxiety, for any sign of the enemy, but it surprised him that none emerged. Even the yell have stopped, while the shaking of the earth disparaged. It was like the enemy flew away and vanished. But that couldn't be possible. This was a trick. A trick by the enemy.

A short breeze blew the smoke away, clearing their field of view. As it did, Newman, and the regiment, was surprised to see that the enemy was gone. The regiment charging towards them disappeared and was replaced by a forest, which had its trees riddled by the bullets they fired.

Everyone looked around in confusion, when they noticed that the regiments flanking them were gone too. The sound of battle was replaced by a quiet calmness, like the one of a peaceful time, while the scars of war could not be seen. It truly was a confusing situation.

"What happened?" Newman asked himself, as he looked around in disbelief.

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><p><strong>Liked it? Then let me know in the reviews. Thanks for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to another chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Twilight jumped from her seat, as a loud sound of successive explosions erupted and rang in her ears. She held her hooves upon her ears and tried to block the sound of, as its sound pierced through the air and created a painful and annoying noise. As the awful began to fade, Twilight removed her hooves, from her ears, and started to wonder what it was. The first thing that popped in her head was the possibility of having another threat to Equestria. A noise like that meant an explosion and if her memory serves her right, which it usually does, the last explosion in Ponyville destroyed her home. So she was not going to take any chances. She just got this castle as a new home and although it was too fancy for her taste, it was still home.

Acting quickly, she raced towards a window to search for the source of the sound. Looking out, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Looking below, she could see that the citizens of Ponyville outside their homes, on the streets and panicking, as they wondered what caused the noise. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who heard it, but there was no sign of any monster threatening the town. It seemed like nothing was disturbing the peaceful, but a quick glance towards the fields to the north changed that. Blowing from those fields was a thick mist of white smoke. This proved to be strange and Twilight wondered what monster might lie inside that mist.

So she immediately went into action, racing through the pristine halls of the castle. Her hooves touching the expensive and shiny stone that the castle was made of. She still didn't know how the castle was conjured up and why it did so. For her it was still a mystery. But this mystery would have to be solved later, since there was still the problem of the mist.

As she raced through the halls, trying her best not to get lost, she passed by her ever faithful and hardworking baby dragon assistant, Spike, who was walking out a room and covering his ears with his claws.

"Hey Twilight, what was that noise all about? Where you trying to conduct another one of your experiments, because that scared the life out of me..." He said as he removed his claws from his ears and moving it towards his forehead. "…and might have given me a headache."

Twilight shot him an angry glance for accusing her immediately. Although some of her experiments ended up in explosions, the explosive sounds those experiments created was nothing compared to the explosion earlier. Besides, her experiments only explode 80% of the time.

So instead, she ignored that earlier remark and put on a serious face.

"Spike, we need to gather the girls, I looked out the window and saw a thick mist coming from a nearby field."

"A mist…" Spike said. "…at this time of day? Its past noon and the sun is shining up high, I don't think there would be a mist right now."

"Yes, but this one is different. I fear that something bad might happen, so let's go."

"You always think that som…hey wait!" Spike wasn't able to finish his sentence, when Twilight immediately picked him up and placed him on her back, to the disappointment of the dragon.

"Hey!" Spike complained, as he held tightly on Twilight, wrapping his hands around her neck, as they raced out of the castle. "Who said I wanted to come? I was enjoying a perfectly nice nap before that loud explosion happened and now I find myself outside trying to figure out what caused it."

"There is no time to by lazy now, Spike. We need to solve this situation, before it causes trouble. I don't want our home being blown up again. Besides, you need the exercise. You're starting to become a little heavy to carry."

"Fine…" The little dragon mumbled under his breath, still not too happy in being dragged to this.

The two were soon slicing through town, as Twilight desperately headed towards the field. As she did, she scanned the area around them, hoping that she would pass by one of her friends, who would help her with investigating the disturbance.

But to her disappointment, she didn't run into any of them. They must have been in their homes when the explosive sound roared and decided to stay in there for their safety. Although Twilight wanted to go investigate the mist with the support of her friends. She also knew that she had to hurry, knowing that it needed to be investigated immediately, since she didn't know when it would disappear. If it disappeared, then who knows when it would reappear? Going to their individual homes would only take up time. So she decided to do it without them and with only Spike as a companion.

As they reached the outskirts of Ponyville, the only thing that blocked their view of the field was a hill. So Twilight immediately walked towards the top, ignoring the fatigue she felt, from running across town. As she did, she soon reached the top to see a confusing sight, which made her stand there and stare. She didn't know how she should react to what she was seeing.

Right in front of her, on the field where the mist was, were tall bi-pedal creatures that wore blue pieces of clothing and were holding weird sticks that were almost as tall as them. They stood in a weird formation, composing of at least two rows, in which each creature stood side by side. As the mist, that covered the field earlier, began to fade, she started to get a clearer view of the foreign creatures. She noticed that in the center of their formation was a long metal pole that had a flag attached to it. But the flag, from what little she saw, didn't look like any flag she knew.

From what she could tell, from her position, the creatures looked confused and dazzled. So she decided to approach them, with caution, and observe them more closely and figure out who and what they were. Who know, maybe they were friendly?

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><p>"I don't get it!" A Captain, from his regiment, said as he waved his sword around. The confusion and frustration was evident on the Captain's face, as he talked to Newman. "I just don't get it, sir. One minute we were facing off with the Rebs. The next we have a forest in front of us and no sign of the other regiments! It just doesn't make any sense, sir."<p>

Newman remained silent, as the Captain spoke, wondering about their current situation. He too was surprise to find themselves in a foreign place, with no one else but the men from his regiment. He wondered about their current problem and was totally confused on how it happened. But that confusion must be kept to himself and to himself only, because it could cause greater problems. If a soldier sees confusion on their officer's face, panic might take over them. So his face must remain calm and confident, no matter what the situation.

Before Newman could wonder more about their situation, and receive empty answers from his own thoughts, an officer, wearing green uniform and holding a Sharpe rifle with his left hand, approached him and saluted. Looking at the man, he immediately recognized the face in front of him. It was Cpt. Wilson! A grin grew on his face, as he saluted back to the Captain.

"Glad for you to join us Captain." Newman said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "I was starting to worry that me and my regiment were the only once experiencing this small problem."

"Well, Colonel, I don't know I this is a small problem, but I can assure you that me and my company are here with you. So, sir, do you have any clue where we are and what we're doing here?"

"I'm afraid not, Captain." He said, shaking his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I am glad that you and you're company are here. You see, I want to scout the land around us and figure out where we are. So can I trust you with that task?"

"Of course, Colonel." Wilson said with a smile. "I'll be happy to follow those orders." With that, the Captain saluted and raced of towards his company. Newman shook his head and smiled, remembering the days when he was a young officer, filled with enthusiasm.

"Uhhh….sir…" Sgt. Johnson said, looking back towards Newman. "…I think you might want to see this."

"What is it, Johnson?" Newman said as he walked towards the sergeant. He then looked towards where the sergeant was pointing and saw something that was walking towards them. At first he thought that it was a horse, but he later noticed that it was too small to be a horse. So he changed his mind and concluded that it was a pony. But as it got closer, Newman noticed that there was something odd about the pony. Picking up his binoculars, he looked through them to get a better close up view. That was when he noticed the weird color on the pony's fur. It was a color that he never imagined a creature could naturally be born with. It was purple! This surprised him, since the last time he checked, ponies weren't colored purple.

"Are my binoculars playing tricks with me, Johnson, or is that pony really colored purple?" He asked, putting down the binoculars.

"Oh, it isn't your binoculars, sir. It's purple to me too. You think the rebels are playing a trick on us, sir?" The sergeant asked as he looked at the pony that was approaching them.

"Well, unless they can make an entire army disappear, then I doubt it." Newman said as he shook his head. "A purple pony, now I've seen it all."

Suddenly a large flash came from behind him, radiating white light that temporarily blinded anyone who looked at it. It was like the powdered flashes of a camera, which sent out a bright light to illuminate the foreground for a photo. The flash was so bright, that Newman, Johnson and everyman around it had to look away and cover their eyes. Newman covered his with his arms, trying to look away. The rays of light were as bright as the sun and just like the sun; it radiated a hot beam of light that warmed up anyone nearby. It was as if the sun itself was present and in front of them.

As the flash subsided and disappeared, Newman looked to the source to see a tall white horse. But this didn't look like any horse he has seen before. In fact, this didn't look like any horse man has seen before!

The horse had long slender legs and a beautiful form, with its pure white fur matching perfectly with its figure. But what attracted his attention were the uncommon features it had. Its long mane, that seemed to be flowing, was composed of a wide variety of colors. While on its fore head was a horn. Newman was about to say that it was a unicorn, like the one written in far fetch tales, but when he saw the wings on its side, he knew that this was an entirely different creature.

"Hello, Colonel Newman." It said, in a feminine calm voice, which sounded as soft like clouds, yet smooth like silk.

This surprised him even more and caused him to jump back. Thoughts were running through his head as he looked at the creature with pure amazement. Looking towards its face, he could see a small smile on its face as its eyes radiated a caring look. Those expressions themselves were impossible for a horse, so how was it doing it? Everything he was seeing just wasn't possible.

"Well, maybe I haven't seen everything after all." He mumbled to Johnson, who only nodded, as he stared at the creature in front of them.

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><p><strong>Liked it? Enjoyed it? Share the love by reviewing and clicking that favorite button. Thanks for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, hello and welcome back to another chapter. Continuous updates FTW!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Newman didn't know how to react in the current situation he was in. None of his training prepared him for anything like it, since he doubted that it expected a situation like this. He was trained to lead and fight, to encourage men and win the day. Now he was sitting in a large room, walls made out of a bright material and unknown stone, with two Princesses of a world that was completely foreign to him. He had left the regiment in the hands of his second in command, while he met with the two Princesses. One of the Princesses, the white tall pony from earlier, introduced herself as Celestia, while the other, a purple pony, introduced herself as Twilight Sparkle. Now the three were seated in a room, inside Princess Twilight's castle, and were enjoying a cup of tea. Although Newman had to admit that he preferred a hot brew of coffee instead.

As he sat there, trying to be comfortable and calm, he noticed Twilight look at him with great intent and curiosity. They remained like that for quite a while, until Celestia broke the silence.

"Twilight, I would like to introduce you to Colonel Newman, a human from another world and an officer of the United States Army." She said, introducing him. Although she introduced herself and fellow Princesses, to Newman, she still hasn't introduce him to her, till now.

"You know him, Princess?" Twilight asked, looking towards the white pony.

Celestia rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "It's just Celestia, where equals now remember?" She told Twilight, who blushed in embarrassment. "To answer your question, no. I do not know him. But I have been observing him and his fellow soldiers."

"Observing?" Both Newman and Twilight said, in surprise.

"Well yes." Celestia said, before taking a sip on her tea. She then put it down and faced the two. "I have been observing you world, Colonel Newman."

"Please, just call me Lawrence." Newman said, as he stated his first name. "There is no need for formality, Princess."

Celestia smiled, a smile that would make anyone trust her immediately, and nodded. "Then I suggest that you just call me Celestia, so that all formality would be removed."

"Very well Celestia."

Celestia smiled once more, before returning to the topic. "As I was saying, I have been observing you world. I wasn't able to see much, but I did learn enough to get what I want."

"Wait, I beg your pardon, Celestia, but how are you able to see my world?"

"Well, Lawrence, I used the same thing that got you and your soldiers here, magic." Celestia said.

"M…magic?" Newman said, said in disbelief as he felt his eyes twitch. He face left a baffled expression, which made Celestia giggle, on how ridiculous he looked. Newman continued to stare, bot sure if he should take this all seriously. Magic? Well, he was in a world of talking ponies, so anything could be possible here. But seriously, magic?

"Umm…Celestia, I think you might have broken him." Twilight said with concern, as Newman continued to stare and not respond.

"Oh, don't worry Twilight. He's not broken; he's just trying to process what he just heard."

"About magic?" Twilight said, looking at Celestia.

"Yes…" Celestia said. But she soon saw the confused look on her face. "Don't worry, I'll explain later."

As he tried to get his facts straight, Newman noticed that Celestia said that she was the one who summoned them. This made him curious, wanting to know why. Gathering his thoughts and regaining control of them, Newman sat straight and cleared his throat. He wasn't going to indulge himself with this 'magic' business anymore, knowing that it would just waste time. He still had questions that needed to be answered and that was the reason he was meeting them in the first place.

"Alright, I don't want to sound impatient…" He began. "…but I just want to know, why we are here? If what you said earlier was right, you were the one who summoned us?"

"Yes, Lawrence, that is correct. I am the one who brought you here." She said nodding.

"Alright, why?" The question was plain and simple, hoping to get a simple reply in return. But the reply that he got was longer than he expected and proved to be more of a plea for help.

Celestia's face became serious as her voice emphasized it even more. Whatever she was saying, it seemed to be important not only to him but for all of them inside the room.

"I brought you all here, because we need your help. It may not be obvious yet, but our nation, Equestria, is under threat. A threat that no magic could stop, not even the elements of harmony." She looked towards Twilight as she said the last part.

"You mean are under a threat that me and the girls cannot stop?" Twilight said, with a worried expression on her face.

"I'm afraid so…" Celestia said, looking down with sorrow. But she then looked up and turned towards Newman with hope. "…but that is where you are your soldier come into play."

"How?"

"The threat that is looming towards us is invasion. An invasion from an enemy who has far more experience in fighting. An invasion from the Griffon Empire."

"The Griffon Empire?" Newman said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. They are a great Empire that is located in a large island towards the east. Their soldiers are trained to kill and could easily overrun our defenses, since Equestria is ill equipped for war. The last war we have been in was five hundred years ago."

"Five hundred years!" Newman exclaimed with astonishment.

"Five hundred years…" She said nodding. "…that is why we are so ill equipped. Our nation doesn't want a war nor expects to fight one. Other than the royal guard, the only military force we would be able to muster is the Volunteer Army, which would have to be trained. But our instructors have no experience in combat." She looked at Newman once more. "That is why I brought you all here. To help train our soldiers and organize them, so they would be ready. I have seen you and your regiment in battle and have to admire your skills at fighting. I wish that you could share you knowledge in warfare to our soldiers and help us fight the enemy. Would you help us?"

Newman had to pause and take this all in. This was a big task he was asking him and his men. She wanted him to train an army and help fight of an enemy force. In normal circumstances, he would refuse the request, seeing that he was in no position to negotiate with other nations. But this was no normal circumstance, since they were trap in another world and the only key to go back was through her. Besides, if he heard everything right, their nations had no military at all. They would have a harder fight, than his nation did during the War of 1812.

Looking back towards her, he noticed that they were both looking at him intently, waiting for his reply. Clearing his throat once more, he gave them his answer.

"Well…I accept your offer. Besides, you're probably not going to bring us back till I say yes." He said the last part as a joke, but when he saw the sad look on Celestia's face, he knew that there was more to this than she was saying.

"Twilight…" She said, facing the purple pony. "…would you please leave us two in this room? We need to talk about something in private."

"Well…uhhh…of course Princess." Twilight said as she immediately left the room, forgetting to remove the formality in the sentence, and closing the door behind her.

Celestia looked at Newman with a sorry expression on her face and he knew that what she was about to tell her was not good news.

"I am sorry to tell you this, but I can't bring you and your soldiers back to your world." She said, with a sad tone, as if someone had died and she was grieving.

"Come again?" Newman said, unsure of what he had just heard. "For a second there, I thought you said that you can't send us back."

"Because I can't…" She replied.

Newman was finally hit with the reality of what she said and stared at her. At first, he felt frustration and anger and wanted to vent it out with her. She was the one who brought them there and now she was telling him she can't send them back. She also wanted them to help her in a war they weren't supposed to be involved with! The nerve of her! He wanted to punch her and demand to be returned to their world.

But he calmed himself and took deep breath. As an officer, he treated men with equality and didn't punish them till he had all the answers. This meant that he had to be patient and calm. So instead he calmly asked for the reason, on why they couldn't be sent back.

"Why?" He asked with a soft tone. "You brought us here, so why can't you bring us back?"

"Because the magic used to bring you back is like a flowing river. To pick you up from your world to ours, is like placing a boat and letting it flow downstream. But getting you back is a harder, if not impossible task. It's like trying to get your way upstream."

Newman felt sorrow feel him as he head that. He wasn't going to see home again, if what she was saying was true. His family, friends, they were all gone now. The country he dedicated his life in its service, was far away from him. Looking down, he didn't know how to react or what to say. It was as if someone close to him had died in battle.

"Why?" Newman's voice trailed.

"Excuse me?" She said, looking up towards him.

"Why us? Why did you choose us for the task? You knew that we couldn't go back, yet you chose to bring us here anyways. Was there a reason you chose us or did you just pick the first regiment you saw? You said you were observing us, so why pick us?"

She mumbled something in reply, but Newman could understand it. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked.

"Because…" She said, not sure if she should continue. But she mustered enough courage to do so. "Because I saw the outcome of the battle."

"You knew what was going to happen? So you can see the future?"

"No, well not entirely. Although I cannot see the future here in Equestria, the forces of the universe give me the power to see your world's future. It is like a book, although an unfinished one, since it doesn't go too far. In fact I could see at least ten years ahead from the time you were fighting that battle. But getting back to topic, I would like to point out your faith, if I didn't bring you here. For your regiment would have been destroyed by that attack. The enemy you faced was larger than you may think and would have killed everyone. If I didn't pull you out, you and your regiment would have been the most massacred regiment in your nation's history, with all four hundred of your soldiers dead."

"So are you telling me that you saved our lives and we owe you our gratitude?" Newman asked.

"Well, in a way, yes." Celestia said. "But save your lives or not, I still plucked you out of your world. Erased you from the minds of the people you left behind, so that it would cause problems. So I plead to you to not change your mind in helping us."

Newman rubbed his chin to think it over. Although he was angry that she did those things to them, without asking their permission or showing any signs, she did save their lives. If she didn't bring them here, then they wouldn't be able to go home either. They would have died a painful death. So what was the difference? Whichever road they chose, it would still end up in the same place. Besides, weren't the values of his country were to protect freedom?

"Alright…" Newman said, sighing. "…I'm still willing to help. But I just have one question."

"What is your question?" She asked, tilting her head.

"If you could see a little bit ahead towards the future, can you please tell me who won the war?" He asked, with a small grin plastered on his face.

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><p>Newman stood in front of his regiment, as all of his men sat down on the grass and looked up at him. He was surrounded by his officers, but they made sure not to block him from the view of the others. Everyman in the regiment was quiet, wanting to know what the Colonel was about to say. The tall man, wearing a black hat, made a prominent figure, as he stood in front of four hundred soldiers.<p>

"Men, as you know…" Newman begun. "…I have had a conversation with the rulers of this land. They prove to be friendly folks and we have nothing to fear. They told me that we would be treated as guess here, under their Princesses gratitude, which we should be thankful off."

"But that is not the reason I have gathered you all here. Because I have sad news to share. One of their rulers, Princess Celestia, has told me that she is unable to bring us back."

There was an immediate uproar us he said that, as soldiers shouted their complaints and waved their fist in anger. No matter how disciplined they were and no matter how loyal they were to the Colonel, news like that would anger any man. Officers immediately rushed and soon they were all silenced, making it free for Newman to talk again.

"Now I know you are all disappointed, angry even, I understand. Because I am too. But you must also understand the reason for this."

He then began to explain the things Celestia told her, but he wasn't sure if they understood it. The resentment in them may remove the logic in their heads, which he hoped it did not. He also told them about the task that they were being given, in how they were supposed to train soldiers in the arts of war. He tried to explain how Celestia technically saved them, hoping that it would convince them all.

"She saved us…" He said, as he finished his explanation. "…if she did not do what she did, then we would be dead and would not be able to go home, either way. Do we not owe her our lives? Who knows, maybe after all of this, we could still go home? Maybe after a long time, the magic they use to get us here would be able to go transport us back, one day. Shouldn't we be optimistic on that possibility? If we would have stayed, then we would be dead and death is certain. Now that we are here, we still have a chance to go back."

"Well…" One soldier said. "…its either live here and die there and you always say that we are better off alive and fighting than dead and lying, right Colonel."

Men started to nod, starting to take in that possibility. Although the chances were small, a little hope was still better than none. Soon all the men accepted the chance, as they took in the idea. They minds soon change from worry, to the possibility of exploring this new world.

They were also filled with pride, thinking that they were chosen out of all the other warriors through history. If they were chosen for a great task, then the ponies must have looked up to them. The idea of being looked up as heroes filled their spirits as they felt a joy that they haven't felt since they signed up to volunteer.

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><p><strong>Liked the story? Then let me know via reviews. Thank for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, hello and welcome back to another chapter. hope you all enjoy, and please don't forget to leave a review.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Princess Luna walked through her realm of dreams, guarding it from the nightmares that lurked in the shadows. She walked the streams of dreams, watching over her subjects and making sure that they have a good night's sleep with lovely dreams. It was her duty to protect her subjects and at night, this was the way she could serve them. As she did her nightly patrol, she came across a dream that was plagued by the storm of nightmares. Inspecting it, she noticed that this dream did not belong to any of her subjects. Instead, it belonged to one of the new creatures that entered their world, humans. From the looks of it, it was a dream from their leader, the so called Colonel Newman. She hadn't met him up front, but she has seen him from a far, after his meeting with her sister. Luna watched as the stormy nightmares rumbled in the dream and she wondered if she should help. Although it was not her subject who was suffering, it was still her duty to fight of nightmares. But what kind of dreams would a foreign creature hold? What was she in store for once she entered? Giving off a long sigh, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she entered the dream of Colonel Newman.

She stepped into a world that looked like Equestria yet felt different at the same time. She found herself in the middle of field, which rose gently up towards a ridge. The sun beamed down as the ground was covered by soft grass, while tress grew tall and green from the distance, just like any quiet place in Equestria. But she soon found out that this place was far from quiet.

The great roar of explosions echoed behind her, making her jump back in surprise and fright. The sound of the explosion was loud and almost defining, making her turn around to find the source of the awful noise.

Doing so, she found plumes of white smoke rising from the ridge, as it rose up in the air. It was too hard to see what caused the explosion, as she tried to squint her eyes to block the gleam of the sun. But she soon stopped in her attempts to identify the source, when she saw at least a dozen circular black projectiles heading her way.

She watched intently, as her eyes followed the direction of the projectiles. She wasn't afraid of getting hit by it, since she knew that she could not be hurt in the realm of dreams. Besides, the projectiles weren't directly heading for her, only near her direction. So she followed the projectiles, watching it flying above her, and go beyond.

She followed it until she noticed that it was heading towards large groups of the bi-pedal creatures. The 'humans' wore blue uniforms and carried what looked like guns. Guns weren't foreign to her, since she was updated with modern Equestrian technology, including weapons. Apparently guns were inventions introduced eight hundred years after her banishment and were key weapons used in the Equestrian arsenal. The only problem being the fact that only few ponies knew how to use it, seeing that Equestria had no standing army and that the Royal Guard used ceremonial spears and swords. But with the threat of the Griffons looming ahead, it was good to see that the creatures they hired had proper knowledge of the use of guns.

She watched as the groups of humans marched in long lines, three creatures deep, and moved forward through the field. They marched with great synchronization, that it amazed her on how they manage to keep the line strait. Of course, she did see Equestrian Legions march in similar formations a thousand years ago, but seeing such a formation, after such a long time, caused great amazement for her.

The sound of more explosions and puffs of smoke appearing on the lines, as the projectiles she was observing earlier exploded over and on the amazing line formations, caused her to jump in shock, again. She was appalled as she bodies fly off, from where a projectile exploded, and land hard on the ground. Body parts also flew, separating themselves and spreading streams of blood on the grass that was green. She had to cover her mouth with her hoof, as she watched the sight with utter horror.

She could hear the screams of pain, as one of the tried to stand up, only to see that one of his legs was missing. Some rolled down the ground, as they lay there lifeless on the ground. While the others, who somehow manage to survive the explosion, with blood dripping from many wounds, cried for help as they looked at their comrades.

But none of their comrades stopped to help. Instead, they filled the gap on the line and marched on, looking forwards and ignoring the pleas. It amazed her on how they could just ignore the cries of someone who needed help and on how they could just go on, as if nothing happened. With a flag, with an assortment of the colors blue red and white, leading each group of lines, they marched on.

One of the lines, the one marching towards her, caught her attention. One of the humans leading it, marching near the flag a pointing his sword forward, fell upon her eyes. Studying the features and comparing the uniform, she immediately identified him as Colonel Newman, owner of this dream.

"Come on, boys!" He cried out, in a voice that was almost as loud as her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Keep it together." He then pointed towards the left of the line he was managing. "Lt. Parker, dress that line. Keep your men in order!" His voice was powerful and commanding, making it clear that he was the leader. But it was not dominating, that would make it look that he was a bully. Instead, the voice was fatherly, and in a way, calm, without the hint of fear.

Luna watched as the line marched pass her, the humans just going through her, as she was translucent in dreams. The sound of them marching shook the ground, as the many lines formed one long group of broken lines, when put together, that marched forward towards the ridge. As they marched, they were met by another hail of projectiles, which caused more damage to the lines. Causing more casualties as more and more of them fell. But the humans soon gained her respect, when she watched then continue on with determination. No matter how many of their comrade's fall, they just shrug it off, patch the gaps, and march on. It amazed her on how much punishment they could take. So she decided to trail behind them, passing the dead an injured that were left on the ground, to see where they were going and if they would make it.

Nearing the ridge, she heard an order, carried out in a cry of command. "On the double-quick!" She heard Newman shout, as he waved his sword and pointed it forward. This action was followed by other leaders, from other lines.

Immediately, the humans on the line quickened their pace to that of a jog, as they raced towards the ridge, ground starting to become steeper with every step. The clanking of both their guns and equipment filled her ears, as well as the sound of explosions, as more projectiles attempted to break the lines. But by now, with the humans in haste, it started to become difficult to fix the gaps. This left small holes on the once perfect lines.

Luna had to quicken her pace as she too raced up the ridge, which had a wall made out of stone that blocked the path to the top. The wall run across the entire ridge line and seemed to be really firm from all the stone that composed it. This was when she noticed that the lines had continued their gallant charge and were fast approaching the wall, just a couple of yards before it, marching in straits rows of lines and trying to fix the gaps that were starting to become present.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bright flashes of light and a puff of smoke rising from the wall followed, as men from the lines started to fall on the ground and roll down. Luna's eyes went wide open to try and see what caused this, when she noticed that there were guns shooting from the wall, with their wielders hidden behind. They took shots on the exposed humans, who fell in great numbers at the volley. But that didn't stop there, as the volley seemed to be infinite, for more and more shots came, without a single seconds of break. It was continuous and made life on the receiving end terrible.

Luna watched in horror, as they were shot off and blown away. The combination of projectile and guns fire was deadly, as blood started to pool on the ground, from the dead bodies of different humans. Body parts lay scattered, as bodies started to pile up. Although Luna had only heard of humans from what her sister has told her and from what she in real life, only hours earlier, she still couldn't help but feel sorry for the pain they were enduring. The sight was terrible and gruesome and she didn't want to know what would happen when war would finally fall upon Equestria.

The rattling sound of gunfire continued, as bullets landed nearby or hit the bodies that stood there exposed. Luna watched the horrible sight and knew that this was no nightmare she had encountered before. This was something much more devastating and she had to remind herself that this wasn't hers and that it was her job to stop it. But how could one stop such a thing?

"Regiment, halt!" She head Newman shout, as he spread out his fore hooves…no arms, as they call it, on both sides. His group immediately followed the order and stopped, just a few yards before the wall, under heavy enemy fire. Luna saw five more of them fall, as a projectile exploded above and splattered its shrapnel upon them.

She watched as Newman move slightly forward, ignoring the whizzing bullets, and looked towards his soldiers, He began ordering them to close up the gaps and hold strong, but more and more of them started to fall.

"Keep strong, men. Show them no fear and stand tall and proud!" He shouted. He then looked towards the enemy firing upon them, who were protected behind the walls, and pointed his sword.

"Regiment, present arms!" He shouted. The clatter of the guns was a response as the soldiers held it in front of them.

"Take aim!" He said, with a tried voice but it did not seem to falter. The regiment then pointed their guns towards the enemy, as the soldiers looked down their sights. But the enemy continued their endless streams of fire, not ceasing. This cut down more and more soldiers, but the line did not waver.

"Fire!" He commanded and soon the sounds of their guns firing echoed in the ridge, adding to the chaotic sound around them. Puffs of smoke shrouded the regiment, as their bullets flew towards their enemy. But to no avail, as most of it hit the wall. Those few that did hit the enemy were too little to change the situation. So the enemy continued their endless amount of fire.

"Reload! Reload and fire at will!" Newman shouted, as he waved his sword up high and ordered his men. He started to move around, trying to keep his men in order, as small groups started to fire, after having reloaded their pieces.

But no matter how hard and how fast they fired at the enemy, the enemy behind the walls was just too well protected. Only the best and most lucky shots got through and like earlier, it proved to be too little. Unlike the enemy's relentless fire, that never stopped to rain bullets upon them.

Luna wondered on how they were expected to win this fight and saw the stupidity in it. It was clear that they would take many casualties, seeing that the enemy was too well protected, so why continue? But she also couldn't help but see the bravery in all of the soldiers, who were standing still and not retreating, even if they were faced with such overwhelming odds. She couldn't help but shed a tear in this beautiful piece of terror and glory.

"Load! Load! Load!" Newman commanded, as he moved through the line, soldiers firing and falling around him. He noticed one soldier, who was struggling to shove the ram rod through the barrel, as his nerves started to cause his hands to shake, the fear overcoming him. So he decided to calm the young man down, so that he could work efficiently.

"Calm yourself son…" He said, as the young man looked up to him, face shaking with fear. Newman put his left hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down. "…come on now son, you can do this, remember your training."

The sight of seeing his commander standing next to him seemed to calm the young man enough, as he nodded in reply and started to ram the bullet with the ram rod. The sight of an officer facing the dangers with you would always calm the nerves of a soldier, no matter what the peril.

"That's it, keep it up." Newman said patting the back of the young man, as he smiled at him.

But the young man would never get the chance to finish reloading his gun, as a bullet tore through his head, blowing his skull and brains away. The bullet impact with such great force that the brains and blood coated Newman's uniform, sending spurts of red and pieces of brains on him. What remained of the young man's body fell on its knees, before lying flat on the ground. Newman stared at the body, before looking at the brains and blood with horror. He stared at it with a blank face and unmoving expression. True, he had seen many of his men fall earlier. But now, now it was up close. Now he had the brains of a soldier, whom he was encouraging just moments earlier.

Luna, who had moved up close towards him, started to back away, eyes filled with more horror. She could see the remains of the head, with a large gaping hole on the middle, giving a preview of the remains of brain. Blood and fluids oozed out it, making a terrible sight that cannot be unseen. The sight of the exploded head was the last straw.

She knew that it was her job to stop nightmares, but this nightmare was enough to give her nightmares about it. She knew that she would be failing her duty if she left, but she could do nothing more. The horrors she saw made her back away and leave the dream. She wanted to go as far away from it as possible.

She felt bad for not being able to do anything, but also knew that she could not stand anymore of these horrors. Never, in her entire life, had she seen a war fought in this kind of bloody horror.

She left with a sense of dread, knowing that she wasn't able to stop it and knowing that soon Equestria would be at war. Equestria might soon be filled with the same nightmares that she saw. Soon everything would change, because that is what war does.

But this action was a bad sign, seeing that, if their powerful leaders cannot stand the sight of war, then how will they're peaceful subjects were expected to fight it. This meant that Colonel Newman and his men were more needed than they though. They were now in charge of turning the soft ponies into fighters.

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><p><strong>Liked it? Then let me know in the reviews. Also, here's a challenge for you Civil War fans, can you guess what battle was that? Anyways, thanks for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really appreciate it. As for the question last time, I would like to thank the ones who tried to answer it. brony at War and eagletalon007, nice try but no. Anonymous, congratulations because you got it right, it was the battle of Fredricksburg and yes it is in Virginia. So anyways, enough of my babbling, time for the story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

A large wooden ship, bearing no flag of its origins, lay anchored in a port in the Griffon Capital, as the dark early morning atmosphere blanketed it. The ship was a large ocean going vessel, equipped with three masts that were meant to handle large sails, which would absorb the power of the wind. This also made the ship sail fast and cut through the water, faster than most ships of its size. Its storage area was meant to carry large amount of supplies, both for the supplement of the crew and as an area for delivering goods. Normally, ships like this were owned by large freighter companies, who transported goods across the vast ocean that separated the Griffon Empire and Equestria, but there were some highly rich companies that also used them for other purposes. Purposes that require large shipping vessels that could carry large amounts of goods yet sail quickly across the ocean. These companies handled businesses which were usually in the ranks of smuggling illegal merchandise. The ship docked in the port right now, was part of one of those businesses.

"Hey, Blizzard, I don't think I like this…" A pony, covered in a hooded coat, said to another, as they stood near the gangway of the ship.

"What do you mean?" The other hooded pony, by the name of Blizzard, said looking at the first. "We've done this a thousand times before and now you decide to have a bad feeling about it?"

"Well, it's just that…" The first pony said, hesitating. "…what would the Griffons want with the goods were giving them. Doesn't it seem a little suspicious to you."

"Storm, I don't care if it's suspicious or not, as long as we get paid at the end of the day, then I'm happy." Blizzard said, as he noticed three Griffons, who were covered in hooded cloaks, approach the gangway of the ship. "Alright, no stay quiet, here they come. Remember, let me do all the talking and don't do anything else until I told you. You got it?"

Storm nodded and watched as the three Griffons climbed up the gangway and board the ship. As the first Griffon stepped on board, Storm noticed that the other two were carrying a large chest, which from his point of view, looked very heavy. Especially with the sight of two fully grown male Griffons, who were having difficulty carrying it, as shown by the relieved sigh from them when they put it down.

"Do you have what we asked for?" The Griffon said, towering over Blizzard and looking at him with an intimidating gaze. Although the hood covered the face from afar, up close it wasn't hard to see it. Not that it was important, seeing that all Griffons looked the same to him.

"Strait to the point, aren't we?" Blizzard said, acting as cool as possible. "Don't worry, buddy. We have all the goods in storage down below."

"I have no time to fool around with you ponies, show them to me." He said, with a deep and serious voice.

"Sheesh…" Blizzards said, before ordering the other member of the crew, who were earth ponies. "Bring one crate up, our pal over here want proof."

The two soon came back, carrying the crate, thanks to the straps on both side, and gently putting it down in front of Blizzard. A green aura then lit from inside Blizzard's hood, as another aura engulfed the crate. Using his magic, Blizzards opened the crate to reveal its contents to their guests. Inside were at least a dozen guns, made from long tubes of metal and large chunks of wood. It was complete with ram rod and stand, which was a long metal rod, attached to the bottom of the gun by a swivel, and used to hold the gun on the ground as the gun was fired. The guns were made for pony use, meaning it had to be operated by hoof and mouth, since ponies couldn't stand on their hind legs (Or at least without difficulty). The trigger was large and located near the stock of the gun and was made for the use of one hoof. Although the weapon was basically made for ponies; it could be easily used by Griffons, seeing that they can stand on their hind legs with ease.

"A dozen Equis Mk. 4 rifles, per crate, fresh from the Equestrian armories themselves." Blizzard said, as he levitated one over towards the Griffon, who gladly took it. He grabbed it with both claws and started inspecting the gun, cocking it aiming and pressing the trigger, just to hear to mechanic clicking sound. Since it was not loaded, no bullet flew out of it. He then checked for cracks but found none. The weapon was clean, as the metal barrel reflected his image, and seemed to be untouched till now.

"Seems to be in perfect order…" He said, conducting his final checks. "…alright, bring the rest of the crates down and we'll inspect them before leaving." He then returned the weapon back to the crate and faced Blizzard.

"Hey, hey, hey." Blizzard said, waving a hoof. "Before you order me around to bring the goods down, let's talk about your end of the deal. My bosses had to go through a lot to get you this, stealing from the Equestrian armory isn't an easy job, you know?"

"You ponies care nothing but money…" The Griffon groaned, as he pointed for the other two Griffons to come forward. The two obeyed the order and moved towards Blizzard, carrying with them the large chest.

"Well, to ease your doubts of not getting paid, I present you this." The Griffon used his claws to pull open the lid of the chest, exposing the bright and shining contents inside. The chest was filled to the brim with large gold bars, which reflected from the moon light, which the slowly setting moon was emitting. Blizzards didn't know why, but he felt the pupils in his eyes turn into gold as he saw this. He was happy at the site of the large amounts of gold. He couldn't help but stare and admire the beautiful sight.

"Satisfied?" The Griffon asked, growing impatient.

"A hundred percent." Blizzard said, recovering. "Alright everypony, haul out those crates!" He shouted, as the crew begun their work of carrying out dozens upon dozens of crates, which contained a total of a thousand rifles, enough to supply an army.

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><p>A large Griffon, with graying feathers and a scared beak, stood on the balcony of the Imperial palace. The imperial palace stood on top of a large hill, in the Griffon capital, and towered over the entire city. It formidable strong walls and sharp edges made it more like a fortress than a palace. But for a Griffon warrior, like him, a place like this was home for any Emperor, just like him. From the balcony, he had complete view of the city and bay below him. Any part of the city could easily be seen from where he stood. The cool ocean breeze blew upon his face, sending a relaxing feeling, and making the red cape who wore flutter. He was consternated on viewing the wonderful city that has been the capital of their Empire for years. The only moment he looked away was when a knock came from the door of his room.<p>

"Come in." He said, turning away from the view.

The door opened to reveal another large Griffon, though slightly smaller than him. The Griffon entered the room, and as the Emperor turned towards him, immediately bowed down in respect. He then looked up and informed the Emperor of the news that has just arrived.

"My most noble Emperor…" He began. "…reports have just arrived that the crates of weapons have arrived and are being distributed immediately."

The Emperor looked at him for a while, as he processed everything he was told. He then nodded his head and grinned at the knowledge of his plan coming together. "Good, good…" He said, in a tired yet confident voice. "…everything is going smoothly. How about the other preparations are they ready?"

"Yes, my Emperor…" The Griffon said, nodding once more. "…everything is ready. The forces that are supposed to storm the barracks are amassing. They already received the weapons and are prepared to storm the place, while the soldiers in the barracks have been alerted to prepare for an attack. Meanwhile, the forces that are supposed to storm the Imperial Palace are just awaiting the weapons. General Steel has already inspected the defenses and is prepared to defend the palace."

The Emperor's smile grew even wider, as he nodded. He then turned around and looked out the balcony towards the city once more. The moon was slowly moving down and would soon disappear to give way for the sun. He then looked down towards the city, to see that most of the citizens where still home and asleep. Resting peacefully in their homes, safe and sound. But that would soon change when the first shots are fired.

The first shots of his meticulous plan, which, if done perfectly, would give him the right to fight his long awaited enemy and conquer their rich lands. Months of planning have finally led to this and it would soon lead them to total victory and the rule of the entire world.

Down below, hiding in building and awaiting commands, were Griffon's armed with pony made weapons. Weapons he ordered, from a secret pony market that smuggled illegal goods, and brought to the capital. These weapons were the latest model of rifles made by ponies, yet were considered a little inferior to theirs. No matter, it wasn't the quality that led him to purchasing them. The weapons only arrived now, so that no one would notice its arrival. They were a forced trained in secrecy and thought on how to use weapons made by foreigners. They were members of a force, that were formed by his orders, who's objective was to storm major military and government installation in the city. But they would not succeed in this duty, for all his soldiers were alerted.

They may take casualties and blood may spill, but it is a price to pay to get the results. The fight would be short, but it effects would last a war that would lead to greatness, or at least he hoped it would. Once the short skirmish is over, Griffon news services would notices the pony guns used by the so called 'rebels' and would demand an investigation. He would then announce that the nation of Equestria, ruled by the ponies, were the ones who armed and started the rebellion. This would cause outrage in the populace and would give him a 'Casus Belli' against Equestria.

Soon it would start. Soon…

"Very well…" He said, knowing that there could be no further planning was needed anymore. Although the plan was simple, the only thing he feared was the plans leaking away, exposing their schemes. He did not know what effect that would make, but he wished to keep the secrets sealed. Right now, the only thing he can do was wait. "…tell all commanders to begin the plan at first light."

"Very well, My Emperor." The Griffon said, bowing once more before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

This was it, this was the moment. This was the action that would lead to the bloodiest and most terrible war in Equestrian history. A war that would take its toll on many and would decide the faith of the world. A war that Celestia dreaded, knowing that her nation was not prepared to fight it. A war witch forced her to bring Colonel Newman and his men. Powered by greed and the desire for more power, the blood of different lives would spill, to fulfill the selfish desires of one Griffon.

Now it was only the matter of waiting.

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><p><strong>So, did you like it? Share your thoughts in the reviews. Thanks for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter, yay!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Colonel Newman sat inside a large tent, which was gladly provided by Celestia for him and many more for his regiment, since the regiment left most of theirs back home, and stared at the newspaper he held with his hands. Shaking his head, he gently put the paper down on the table and gave a long sigh. By now, he and his regiment have adapted to life in this new world. Although they haven't met the populace of this new world, since they choose to camp slightly away from the nearest town, explanations from Twilight Sparkle gave them a view of this world, through her words. This made this world feel different, in a way that was hard to explain. Being soldiers, they were used to camping in different places, but seeing how peaceful the place was, it gave them a different sense inside. Seeing that he and his men have been at war for at least a year, since the regiment was formed. But now, an all too familiar acquaintance has returned, which revealed itself in the text on the paper that he just read.

'WAR!' It read, in capital letters.

This was why Celestia brought them here; this was the threat that loomed around. She could sense it brewing and now it was upon them. This also brought more challenges for him and his command. Because this meant that they must stand with their pledge on helping train an army and fighting off the enemy. Well, it didn't seem different from the situation they were before, only difference was they were going to fight with multicolored ponies. He wondered how they would react when they get their first glimpse of humans, seeing that news of their presence was kept a secret, which was the reason why they were camped away from the town. Sure Princess Twilight was slightly shocked, but that doesn't account for an entire nation.

"Well, it looks like the Princess's prediction was right." Sgt. Johnson, who was standing behind him, said.

"Yeah…" Newman replied. "…now, all we can do is wait for her orders. For all we know, she could order us to fight the entire enemy army, seeing that this nation has no army at all." He said, remembering the earlier conversation with Celestia. Although Celestia promised that they would train the ponies first before going to war, Newman also knew that plans could change quickly in war. He also remembered the records she showed him, where he found out that the entire Royal Guard was only 800 strong. Sure, they can raise militia forces, but they would be ill-equipped and poorly armed. The only suitable force they could muster were volunteer regiments, like them, who could be trained and would fight like regular soldiers. The only problem was the time constraint, seeing that they still have to train them.

Well, at least I was good to hear that the ponies used rifles like them, although the process was quite different since they didn't have hands and couldn't stand of their hind legs. Guns for ponies, from the brief explanation he was given, were planted on the ground, using a stand so that the pony could aim and fire using one hoof. He would have to learn more about it later.

"Can you believe it?" Newman said pointing at the newspaper. "Griffons! Apparently, Griffons are blaming the ponies for starting and rebellion in their capital. Have you heard anything more absurd than that?"

"Well…" Johnson said, scratching his chin, "…we are taking orders from a pony….no what did she call herself again? Oh, yeah, an alicorn! We're taking orders from an alicorn, a creature I have never heard before."

"True… True…" Newman said, nodding his head. He didn't think much about it, seeing that they could do nothing to change that faith. It was either this or dying back home. This, to him, was almost the same.

"Colonel…" A young lieutenant said, peering through the tent's flaps. "…there is an officer here, who says he was sent by Princess Celestia, who wants to see you. Should I bring him in?"

"Yes, yes…" He said, nodding vigorously, wanting to know what the Princess had in store for them. "…send him in."

The young lieutenant nodded and soon disappeared.

Soon the flaps of the tent moved open to reveal a white furred pony, with wings, who wore a golden plate of armor on his chest and had a golden helmet on him. The pony walked inside and approached Newman before stopping and standing still. He then raised his right hoof, keeping his balance with only three hooves, and salted towards him. "Lieutenant Feather Wing, sir." He said, with a strong and enthusiastic voice. Newman wasn't good at telling the age of ponies, seeing that they have only been here for three days, but if his guess was right, this pony was still young. Maybe fresh out of some kind of academy, if they had one, where they train officers.

"At ease, Lieutenant." Newman said, gesturing for him to relax. "Do you have any news from me from the Princess?"

"Yes, sir." He said, still beaming with excitement. "I have been dispatched by the Princess herself to give you your orders. The Princess states that you should prepare your regiment to move out and march towards a camp being made near the town of Ponyville. You would then join the encampment, where you and your soldiers will help train the first batch of volunteers; Princess Celestia has told me that you are already aware of that, the training part I mean." Then, the young pony's smile grew bigger. "I am to accompany you and your regiment as a liaison, between you and the Celestial Guard, and I must say, after seeing your camp and soldiers, sir, it would be an honor to serve under you. Starting from this point onward, I take orders from you, sir"

"Well, it's glad to see that you're very enthusiastic about this, Lieutenant, it's always good to see an officer with a lot of energy in him. It's also good to have a liaison between you nation and my regiment, it would be a great help. I am glad you are with us. Since you would be working with us, you won't happen to mind showing us the way to the new camp? We aren't well knowledgeable of the territory." Newman asked.

"Thank you, sir and do not worry. I have orders to show your regiment the way, as soon as you are prepared." Feather Wing said.

"Alright then…" Newman said, before turning towards Johnson. "…sergeant, call upon all company commander and tell them to head to my tent. I want this regiment to move out as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir." Johnson said, before saluting and heading out, in search for the company commanders who were scattered in their camp. This left Newman and Feather Wing in the tent, to talk about the path they would take to get to the new camp.

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><p>The men begun to fall in to the sound of the drums, as sergeants and officers organized them all. The regiment had already packed up the tents, which were graciously donated to them, and made sure that they have all their equipment and supplies. Soon the regiment formed up on the dirt road, the sun beaming down upon them. Every man stood shoulder to shoulder, as the entire regiment formed a column of fours. The blue uniforms blending with each other to form one long rectangular formation that stood on the road. The colors, the beautiful combination of red and blue, stood in the center, as its guard protected it.<p>

Behind the formation of blue, stood a company of green cladded men. These were the sharpshooter under Captain Wilson, who was now attached to the regiment and took commands from the Colonel.

In the front of the column stood Lt. Colonel Warren, as he waited for the colonel to arrive. Like any other officer of his position, he was in charge of the regiment when the colonel was gone. Although some may call him a colonel, they only do so for simplicity, seeing that his rank is slightly lower than colonel. His job was to transmit the colonel's orders and act as the second in command.

Newman soon came into view, as he walked towards the front, with Feather Wing on his right. As Newman approached, Warren gave him a salute as Newman returned it. Giving a smile, Warren looked up as he felt the cool and refreshing breeze upon him. He then looked towards Newman, smile still plastered on his face.

"A beautiful place, Colonel, if I don't say so myself." He said, admiring how peaceful and relaxing it all was. After walking through war torn fields, with grass bloodied by men who died, and seeing destroyed homes, it was a great relief to have a change of scenery. Sure, there were peaceful places like this back home, but war was always across the horizon. Here, was has not tampered its soil, He just hoped that it would stay that way.

"Yes, yes it is." Newman said nodding, as he stood beside Warren. Now, both Warren and Feather Wing flanked him, as he stood in between them and in front of the regiment. "Are the men ready?" He asked.

"Ready as always, colonel." Warren said, knowing that every command made by the colonel would be followed wholeheartedly and with great haste.

"Alright, move them up." He said, patting the man on the back.

"Yes, sir." He said, as his hand moved swiftly towards his saber, which was resting in its scabbard, attached to his hip. Pulling it out, and pointing it forward, he gathered all his energy, so that he could give the order with all the voice he had inside of him.

"220th Pennsylvania, forward…" Warren shouted his command.

The orders echoed, as other soldiers and officers repeated the last word till the entire regiment was saying it. "Forward!" They echoed.

"…march!" He finished, as he and Newman took the first steps forward. Feather Wing was slow to catch up to these events and was behind one step, at first, but he was soon sync with the rest of the regiment.

Officers kept their men in check, making sure that no one was being left behind. They kept the line straight and made sure that there were no gaps forming. It would make a terrible sight if it happened and would make them look clumsy. But of course, none of that happened. For everyone here were professionals, having this formation drilled in their heads, and by now, they had perfected the art of marching. If they were in a parade, people would look in awe at how neatly organized they all were.

The sound of equipment clanking as they moved forward echoed, but was over powered by the sweet tunes played on the instruments.

The regimental band played their drums and flute, creating sweet music that filled their ears and flew through the air. It kept the march up beat and made sure that the men weren't bored and left without entertainment, as they made their way through the road and towards the nearby town named Ponyville.

As they walked, Warren mind started to drift to the many thoughts he had in his head. Although the breeze was nice and cool, it sure would have been nice to have his horse with him. Like most officers, who had the rank to command a regiment, he and the colonel usually rode on a horse when on a march. Sadly, during battles, the horses would have to be left behind the lines, seeing that they didn't want their trusty steed to die due to a bullet. Also, officers ridding on horses make a sweet target for enemy sharpshooters.

When the regiment was brought upon this new world, the horses were left behind, much to Warren's dismay.

Well maybe it was a good thing, seeing that this world, or at least this nation, was ruled by ponies. It might not have been good for relations when they see men riding their brethren.

"So, Lieutenant…" Newman said, his voice interrupting Warren's thoughts and causing him to snap back to reality. "...do you have any idea why the Princess appointed you as our liaison? Surely you must be a special member and has great talents, to be assigned to fulfill a great task like this."

Looking at the white pony, Warren could see the he was flustered by the compliments. He was waving his head left to right, trying to gather his thoughts, after that compliment.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think I'm that special." Feather Wing admitted.

"Oh, come on…" Newman insisted. "…surely you're good at something, seeing that the Princess herself chose you."

"Well…" Feather Wing's voice trailed off. "…there was that one time I served under Captain Shield, where I acted as his aide-de-camp and galloped across the camp o dispatch his orders. But that job wasn't special, seeing that the buffalos weren't much of a threat and only attacked an outpost once." This caught Warren's interest.

"Wait…" Warren said, finally joining the conversation. "…Buffalos, a threat? I thought this nation hasn't been in war for centuries. Now you're talking about Buffalos and stuff."

"Well…" Feather Wing explained. "…it is true that we haven't been at war for over five hundred years, that doesn't mean we haven't had any threats and such. One of the threats is the Buffalos, who try to push ponies away from their desert homes. I served in one of the companies, of the Royal Guard, that were in charge of keeping the frontier safe. But other than receiving a commendation for my organizations skills, I don't see anything special about me."

"Huh, funny…" Warren said, looking towards the Newman. "…their frontier with Buffalos sounds like the West and the Indians to me."

"Yes, yes it does…" Newman said, nodding. "….and Lieutenant, I think there might be something special about you."

"There is?" Feather Wing said in surprise.

"Yes. You said you were commended for being well organized and that you served as an aide-de-camp?"

"Yeah…"

"Well there you go. With organization skills, you can help keep track with supplies and since you were already an experienced aide-de-camp, then that would mean you would know which dispatches are important, and are of utmost priority, from those which could be spared later. To me, that sounds like experience that a liaison needs."

"You really think so?" Feather Wing said, looking up.

"I know so." Newman said with a warm smile while Warren nodded.

The regiment continued to march through the road, till they got their first glimpse of the town of Ponyville. Its cozy wooden houses rose from the ground, making it look like the homes they left behind, as the large and tall town hall stood high above, making it visible from a great distance.

Other than the fact that the town was mostly made out of wood and hay, it looked no different to an average home back in their country.

"Welcome to Ponyville." Feather Wing said, as they entered the town. The town had already been bustling with activity, since neighbors went outside to talk about the sudden occurrence of the declaration of war and the camp being built at the town's outskirts, earlier that day. This meant that most of the residents were outside and were able to see the weird uniformed creatures that marched into their town.

Some were scared and run away in fright, locking themselves in their homes, like they usually do. From past experience, many residents knew that hiding was the best solution, knowing that the 'Elements of Harmony' led by Princess Twilight Sparkle, who also has her castle here, lived in town. Disasters had hit this town may times and the best way to respond to it was to stay in their homes and wait it out.

So many ponies ran in panic and slammed the doors shot behind them, hoping that the creatures wouldn't go looking for them and would soon go away. But there were some residents who were curious as to what these creatures are and decided to stay.

They stood on the sides of the road and watched as the column of blue cladded creatures pass by them. Seeing that the creatures weren't attacking, they concluded that they weren't a threat. So they decided to act civilized and calm.

They watched in awe, as the creatures marched by. They started to wonder and watched them in great fascination. These were creatures new to their eyes and were never seen before. They started to wonder what they were and why they were here. Seeing that a member of the Royal Guard was marching with them, it signified that the government was well aware of their presence. But that didn't answer the question of what they were, so they continued to look on and wonder.

One particular pony, a mint green unicorn mare, had a huge grin creeping on her face. Excitement filled her veins as she jumped in joy and happiness. Looking towards her companion, a cream colored pony, she shouted in glee.

"I knew it! I knew it! I told you, I told you all. They do exist!"

Feather Wing noticed the stares they were all getting and gave Newman an apologetic look, as he felt ashamed for the actions of the ponies. "I'm sorry, sir..." He said. "…for the reception of you and your regiment are getting."

"Oh, don't worry about it Lieutenant." Newman said, shrugging it off. "It's not like weird creatures march down your town every day. Besides, if I saw a strange creature walking down my town, I would stare too."

Feather Wing smiled and nodded, as he guided Newman, Warren and the rest of the regiment through the streets and to the other side of town, were the camp was located.

They soon arrived at the location of the camp, having passed the crowd of onlookers, and reached the point they were assigned to.

"Regiment…" Warren's voice echoed. "…halt!"

The entire regiment stopped, to stand in front of the camp in where they were supposed to stay. But when Newman's eyes fell upon it, shock and confusion filled him. What lay in front of him was not a camp, it was a disaster.

"W…what is this?" He shouted.

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><p><strong>Liked it? Let me know in the reviews. Thanks for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Welcome**** to another chapter. First off, I would like to thank you all for your comments. **

**eagletalon007- Yeah, I got to agree, people tend to forget that ponies would have difficulty standing on their hind legs. Also, stop reading my mind, since you basically guessed what was going to happen in this chapter. (Although, now that I think of it, it was probably obvious.) Oh, yeah, before I forget, good luck on that story of yours.**

**With that done, lets go to the story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

A military camp is supposed to be an area where soldiers can rest and train. It is a well-organized place where ammunition can be stored, with sufficient protection, and a place where the basic necessities for a soldier can be found. But as Newman stood at the so called camp that they were supposed to stay, he saw none of this. Instead, he saw a disorganized group of tents, improperly placed in a wide open field. From where he was standing, he couldn't help but feel angry at how terrible the place looked. It looked like someone took every tent, crate and weapon, mixed them all up and threw them on the field. He knew the ponies had no combat experience what so ever, but even they should know the basic organizations of a simple camp! Walking forward, he exposed his eyes to the terrible place that was supposed to be a proper camp for the new volunteers that they were going to train.

Tents were placed randomly on the field, some not even done and were just left on the ground. The canvas and stick, being blown around by the gentle wind. But the ones that were made were not done so properly, as they sagged and looked like they could fall apart. Newman knew that the reason for this was not because of the material, seeing that the tents that were given to them worked properly, but were the result of improper setting. He would have to talk to somebody about that if he wanted this place to be a descent base for training.

His eyes soon fell upon a bunch of crates that were piled on one area and as he looked closely, he noticed that it had the words 'Ammunition' imprinted on it. He shook his head as he walked towards it, knowing that this was not right. Munitions were supposed to be properly guarded, to prevent anything happening to it. Leaving it exposed and unprotected was against the textbook principles.

Looking around some more, Newman noticed that there weren't many ponies at this makeshift camp. Other than a dozen or so ponies, scattered throughout the field and trying to assemble the tents, there was no one else there. The volunteers must have not arrived yet. This was a good thing, seeing that it would be impossible to accommodate them with the camp's current situation.

Approaching the nearest pony, a brown earth pony who was struggling to get a tent up, he called to him with a stern voice. The pony yelped in shock at the call, which caused the tent to topple down on him, covering the poor pony with the canvas.

Newman waited for the pony to emerge from the canvas before questioning him.

"Soldier…" He said, when the pony finally looked up at him. The pony stared at him with confusion at first, since Newman looked strange and new to him, but soon snapped out of it. He had been informed that they would be working with strange new creatures would and no matter how strange Newman look, an officer was still an officer. "…who is in charge of this 'camp'?"

"C…captain L…Lance, sir…" The pony said, feeling slightly nervous. Newman was an imposing figure of authority and spoke with a serious tone, which made sure you didn't mess with. "…h…he's right o…over there…" The pony raised his hood and pointed towards a green pony, who was softly napping under the shade of a tree. He lay softly on the grass, as his slumbered peacefully under the nice shade, away from the sun.

Newman's fury grew at this, seeing that the officer in charge was sleeping, while his camp was disorganized and scattered. He left his command without proper cohesion and organization, which made the camp a total mess. The soldiers under him were working hard under the sun, without anyone to command them, while he slept peacefully and as comfortable as possible. Newman would have to make things straight with him.

Stomping towards the tree, Newman grumbled under his breath. If there was one thing that he hated the most, it was an officer who didn't do his job. To him, officers were the ones who lead and encourage their men. The showed them order, yet give them compassion and trust. They were supposed to be the father figure of a unit. So when an officer slacks of and becomes lazy, it gives men like him a bad name. It makes the entire family of officers look bad and if officers look bad, then soldiers might hesitate to follow their orders, which was a bad thing.

"Get up, you lousy excuse for a Captain!" Newman shouted, as he kicked the pony on the side. Not enough to seriously hurt him, but firm enough to make his point.

The pony's eyes shot open in surprise as he let out a shout of pain before whining at the feeling of the kick. He then became angry at the thought that somepony would dare disturb him while he was taking a nap and a good nap too. The dream he was having was fantastic, till it was rudely disrupted.

"Hey, who do you think you are to disturb me?" He shouted, eyes closed and hood mending the sore spot, to where he was kicked.

"Who do I think I am? Well, seeing that you're just a captain, then I think I am one who holds a higher rank then you!" Newman said, his voice getting louder with every word. They might not belong to the same nation, but the rank of Colonel was still higher than Captain. Unless things work differently here, which he hoped it didn't.

"Wha…" The green pony said, looking up, before having his eyes grow wide. Standing before him was a bi-pedal creature that was raging with anger and was just waiting to rip him apart.

I'm sorry, sir, I…I…" The pony stuttered, under the piercing gaze of Newman. His four legs shook as he tried to stand still, but the creature in front of him proved to be menacing and terrifying.

"Do not sorry sir me!" Newman said. "You are in a lot of trouble and do you know why?"

Lance didn't respond, too scared to move any muscle. He didn't want to be here right now, but to Newman, this is what he deserved.

"You, my good sir, have left this camp in shambles. This is supposed to be a proper camp in which soldiers are going to stay and train. How do you expect them to do that, when the tents are not even properly placed?" Newman shouted, clutching his fist. By now Feather Wing had joined them, but decided to not make his presence known. He just stood behind Newman and watch in amazement on how much fury the officer had.

"I…I can e…explain…" Lance said, still scared and shaking.

"No, Captain, there is no time for explanation." Newman said, relaxing a bit. He knew that an officer must show anger at times, but must also learn to control them. It was not good to have a fellow officer, or soldier, angry at you. Since that could cause problems in combat. So a good officer must learn to forgive mistakes made by the men under him. "Listen; let's keep this short and simple. We don't know when the volunteers are coming and we don't have time for this. So, I'm going to cut you a deal, I want you to turn this shamble into an organized camp, tents properly made and separated to different sectors, ammunition placed inside guarded tents, headquarter tents placed, area made for target practice and a place where maneuvers can be practiced. If you are able to do that, then you could be off the hook. Sound good to you?"

"Y…Yes, sir!" Lance said, saluting quickly before racing off, towards the disorganized ponies fixing up tents, so that he can turn the mess into a proper camp.

Satisfied, Newman turned around to see Feather Wing standing behind him. As he walked and passed by him, he gave the young pony some advice.

"Remember, Lieutenant, a good officer is friendly and kind to his command, but can also be mean to emphasize a point. Always keep that in mind."

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><p>Later that day, orders came, from a courier sent from Canterlot. The message was from Princess Celestia and it contains the orders in which Newman was supposed to follow. It stated that overall command of the camp was to go to him and that he was to take all measures necessary to make the camp ready for the volunteers, who will arrive at noon tomorrow. This made Newman jump into action, as he helped Cpt. Lance supervise the organization of the camp. Ordering both his men and the ponies to pitch up tents and moves crates of ammunition, while posting sentries to guard it. He pointed out where the soldier's quarters where to be located and helped in the search for a place in which the ground was open and flat, for soldiers to practice maneuvering.<p>

Later that day, Newman went to Feather Wing and asked him to demonstrate the use of the special pony rifles. Since it would be a great use to him to known how such a weapon could be wielded by a pony, who stood on all four legs. So it would be an amazing sight to see how they manage to reload and fire their rifles.

They stood at the firing range, picked out by Newman himself, where a crate of rifles was located. On top of one of the crates was an Equis Mk. 4 rifle, the most common and effective rifle Equestria had. Newman noted that it look very similar to the Springfield model 1861 rifle they had, except for some minor changes. Which was the fact that it had a foldable stand attached to it and had a modified stock and trigger, converted for pony use.

"Well you see, sir, our rifles aren't that easy to use." Feather Wing said, as he picked one up with his mouth and began his demonstration. He then began to deploy the stand by using one hoof to pull it before jabbing it on the ground. He then rested the stock of the gun on top of his shoulder. "It's a complicated system, similar to yours, and takes a lot of practice." He said, as remembered the demonstration Sgt. Johnson gave him earlier.

"First we would have to take a paper cartridge and load the rifle." He said before turning his head and grabbing one from his saddle bag. Then, after gently keeping it between his teeth, he took the cartridge, using his left hoof, while ripping the end at the same time. He then swung the rifle, which was done with ease, thanks to the swivel on the stand, till the muzzle of the weapon was towards him. He then poured the contents, making sure that every grain of powder was in, before plotting the bullet on the end.

"After making sure that it's loaded, we take the ramrod and ram the bullet home." He said, before quickly moving his mouth towards the ramrod, which was located below the tube, just like a Springfield riddle, and pulling it out. With ramrod between his teeth, he gently moved the end towards the muzzle before forcefully ramming it in. He continued to ram it, till he was sure that the bullet was secured in the tube. He then pulled the ramrod out and returned it to its respectful place. He then swung the rifle back, making it point forward.

"We then cock the hammer and put the percussion cap…" He said, with the rifle stock resting on top of his shoulder once again. Using his left hoof, he moved it towards the hammer and pulled it, making a clicking sound to state that it has been coked. He then took a golden colored cap from the saddle bag and gently placed it on the tip, where the hammer was suppose to hit.

"We then take aim and fire." He said. Moving his right hoof towards the trigger, he balanced himself with only three legs available, and placed the stock of the gun against his shoulder. He then looked down the sights and took aim at the low hill they had in front of him. Making sure that it was aimed, he pulled on the trigger and let the rifle do its job.

The hammer hit the cap, causing a sequence of events that would trigger the gunpowder inside to erupt. this caused the bullet to be propelled out of the barrel, passing through the rifling and giving it a spin as it exited.

BANG!

The rifle fired, leaving a plume of smoke in front of it. The force of the rifle pushed it back in the recoil, but was stopped by the shoulder oh Feather Wing. Newman didn't know where the bullet landed, but he was told the weapon had an effective range of about 500 yards, equivalent to their own Springfield rifles.

"Well…" Feather Wing said, pulling the stand out of the ground and folding it up again. "…that's basically it. It's a hard process, but it works. Maybe it would be easier if we had hands, it's called hands, right?"

Newman nodded.

"Alright then…" He said before continuing. "…hands, if we had hands and could stand in our hind legs, then it would be easy. But sadly we can't. Heck, even the Griffons could load their own weapons faster than me and I'm a trained member of the Guard! I don't know how we'll be able to train the volunteers, who have no experience at this at all!"

"Oh, don't worry Lieutenant…" Newman said with a confident voice, as he approached him. "…if an officer trains their soldiers properly, then they would be able to do things that they never though they could?"

"You really think so, sir?" Feather Wing said, unsure. "How can we be sure that the volunteers would be able to understand and comprehend all this training?"

Newman answered by pointing towards a company, from the 220th, who were doing some drills on the opposite field. They watched as they kept the neatly formed lines, without breaking. It was the perfect text book formation and every soldier moved as one great synchronized mass. The men marched in a perfect line, while officers ordered them and kept them straight. The NCO's marched on the last row, making sure that no man was slacking and that no holes formed. They marched forward, turned, and halted, doing all this without breaking a single part of their line.

"You see them…" Newman said. "…they weren't always like that. When they first came, they were a disorganized bunch, who could barely keep that formation straight." He remembered the days when the regiment was first formed, when the men were eager yet unable to fulfill simple commands. "It was an embarrassing sight, which would make any officer frustrated. But I kept my patience and helped them through it. I tried to figure out the small problems and made sure to fix it. Now look at them. They could do this drill in their sleep! It took a lot of time and drilling, but they all became proper soldiers."

"When we were first mustered, the men from the regiment couldn't figure out on how to reload a rifle. There were a lot of mistakes and those who were able to reload their gun were slow. We were lucky to be able to fire one shot a minute." Newman stated. "But now they can fire three shots a minute, and outshoot an enemy regiment. Now these men could reload a rifle in the heat of battle, without missing a step. The point is, Lieutenant, we can train anyone to do this task, as long as we do it properly."

"Well, maybe you're right, Colonel." Feather Wing said. "Besides, how bad could they be?"

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><p><strong>Well, there goes another chapter. I hope you like it and help me out by letting me know in the reviews. As always, thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, it took me awhile, but I have a new chapter for you all. I would like to thank all of your support, thanks for all the reviews and favorites. I never expected anybody to like this story and it actually surprised me.**

**eagletalon007 - Don't worry about it, it fine.**

**Guest - Thanks for the support. Also a civil war reenactor? Cool! I think its great to have people who honor the men who fought in one of the greatest and most tragic war of the United States of America.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

Captain Wilson slowly opened his eyes as he woke up to a new day. Giving out a yawn, he started to shift his position till he was sitting on his makeshift bed. Like many officers in the regiment, he was given his own private tent, in which he could set up his quarters and rest. It was slightly bigger than the tents an ordinary soldier slept in and was only roomy because he didn't have to share it with two other people. His bed wasn't fancy either, for it was a pile of hay that was covered up by a thick blanket. It might not be a real bed, but it was still comfortable to sleep on, proven by the wonderful rest he had. He scratched his head as he sat up, while trying to prepare both his mind and body for the day. Today was going to be a big day, like Col. Newman told them, for the pony volunteers will be arriving at noon. Every man and officer, him included, would be busy, preparing the camp and making it presentable. His job would be to prepare his company of sharpshooter and help them cooperate with the pony instructors. His company, along with those instructors, were the ones assigned to teach the first batch on shooting. The pony instructors would train the volunteers on how to reload, while they would help in the aiming, telling them the tricks of the trade. But from what Wilson has seen, on how to reload and fire the pony rifles, it was going to be a hard task. So he decided to start of the day with a hearty breakfast.

He planned on going to the mess tent, where a large amount of food was usually prepared, and join the men in their breakfast. But he decided to have an apple first, from the basket of apples that was graciously given to each officer, by the ponies. It was said to be a token of appreciation from them, so he gladly accept it.

It was a good thing to, since he didn't have many supplies. Since they were suddenly picked up and teleported, this meant that the supplies they had were left behind, since knapsacks were placed behind the lines before a battle. Not that they had many supplies to start with, being sharpshooter, who were effectively skirmishers, they traveled light and carried few supplies.

It was also a good thing to see that they had fruit that was eatable to man, knowing that it could not be a good thing to eat meat in a world where most of the populations are herbivores. So for now, fruit would be fine. Maybe some break and biscuits later on, but they would be fine with these forms of nourishment. Besides, he was already trained to eat with such food for a long time, seeing that there were times that meat was a rare commodity in the army.

As he was about to stand up and head towards the basket, which was on top of a wooden table inside his tent, a sudden noise caught his ears. It was the sound of slurping before being followed by a satisfied sigh. The slurping sound was equivalent to the sound of someone sucking on a tube and he started to wonder on why that was so. This caused great curiosity to him, as to what had caused the sound. So he turned his head around to see what had caused it.

Looking around his tent, he noticed that no one was there to have caused it. The tent was empty of anyone, except for his presence. But he also noticed that the basket of apples was also gone. The tent was small and gave little to no area for the basket to have hide. But as he continued to look around for it, the slurping noise came again. By now, he had noticed that it came from just outside his tent, just by the entrance.

So he stood up and cautiously moved towards it, making sure to keep his steps quiet. As he reached the entrance, he gently moved the flap to the side and peaked to what was outside of his tent. There, he saw a pony like figure that he has never seen before. It was facing with its back against the tent, making it not notice him.

"What in the world is that?" Wilson murmured to himself. When he ended up in a world of multi-colored ponies, he thought that he has seen everything. Well, right now, it was obvious that it was not true.

Staring at the creature he noticed the small features that make it different from a pony. Like a normal pony it had fur, in this case silver, tail, which was dark blue, and all the basic looks of a pony. Observing the creature, he noticed that instead of the normal ears of a pony, its ears were more pointed and had tuffs of fur in it. This made him even more curios, making him scrutinize the differences more. The wings were also a noticeable change, with them being bat like, rather than the feathery bird like wings. This made him wonder if the creature was some sort of crossbreed between a pony and a bat. How would that have been possible? Well, he was in a world were magic existed…

As he continued to observe the creature in front of his tent, he noticed that the slurping sound returned. That was when he noticed the basket of apples lying next to the creature. He watched as the creature took an apple, before the slurping sound retuned, and throwing its remains off to the side. Where a pile of dehydrated lay, stocked up on top of another.

"Those where my apples…" Wilson complained, loud enough for the creature to hear, as it immediately reacted to his voice.

It let out a small squeak of surprise, before jumping from the position it was sitting. It then turned around to face his tent and had a shocked and worried look plastered on its face. As it faced him, Wilson noted the pair of sharp teeth that protruded from the top of its mouth. Now he was 100% sure that it was half pony and half bat.

It narrowed it eyes at him, before immediately looking at the almost empty basket, then back at him again. An embarrassed look then fall upon it face as its cheeks started to turn to a light shade of red. Looking down and shuffling its hooves, it apologized with its sweet and smooth feminine voice.

"Sorry…" It said, making Wilson open the tent and step out, as he looked at the creature in front of him. "…I didn't mean to take you basket of apples. It was just that, I flew all the way here from Canterlot and when I got here I was really hungry. Then I smelled the sweet fragrance of apples, because we bat ponies have very powerful and sensitive senses, and decided to follow it. I wanted to ask for your permission, but you were asleep and all…" It continued, still embarrassed.

"Well, ummm…you do know that the mess tent is just a couple of tents away, right?" Wilson said, pointing towards the direction of the mess. This statement made the poor creature shrink in embarrassment. Wilson felt sorry for it and decided to just forgive her. It's not like those were the only apples in this world, there were plenty more somewhere else.

"You know what, forget it." He said, making her look up with hope, as a small smile grew on her face. "I could get more apples later. Now did you say bat pony?" He said, changing the topic to an even more interesting one. His early suspicions were right, she was a bat pony. But what was she doing here?

"Yup…" It chirped, with her embarrassment and shyness gone. "…I'm a bat pony, the bat like creatures that are commonly known for our job a Lunar Guards. In fact, I'm a member of the Lunar Guard, myself." She said, patting the gray armor, which matched her silver fur and covered her chest, with her right hoof. She stood there with pride in her large blue eyes and confidence written on her posture.

"The Lunar Guard?" Wilson said, as he raised an eyebrow. He had heard about the Solar Guard, knowing that Feather Wing was a member of it, but he had never heard of Lunar Guard. Well, he was fairly new here and there were still a lot of things for him to learn about.

"Yup, my name is Lt. Dawn. I'm a member of the Lunar Guard who is supposed to be attached as a liaison to this regiment, if I could find where your colonel is."

"Well you would probably find him faster if you weren't munching on my apples." He said, teasingly. He didn't put it in an angry tone and said it jokingly, which she understood, as she gave out a small giggle. "Anyways, my name is Cpt. Wilson, of the 1st United States Sharpshooter, no attached to this regiment; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Wait a minute…" She said, trailing off as she thought about what he said. "…did you say captain?"

With that realization, she immediately stood straight and brought her right hoof to a salute. Her gaze was straight forward, as she stood there unmoving.

"I'm sorry for disrespecting you, sir. I didn't know that you were a captain." She said, with a tone of voice that is used by any soldier of lower rank, when talking to an officer.

"At ease…" He said, trying to calm her down from her stiff position. He was usually relax to the soldiers he commanded and preferred to talk with them casually. None of that fancy military discipline that most officers like. He was a volunteer officer, meaning he had an ordinary civilian job before the military. He believed that being casual and normal to your command was a key part in gaining the trust of your soldiers. "…none of that stuff. You seemed to be fine with talking with me casually earlier, so you should be fine doing it now. Unless you want me to make that an order?"

"No, sir." She said, her body relaxing.

"Also, none of that, sir stuff. Please, just call me Wilson. The sir thing is only for disobedient soldiers." He said, smiling at her.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, si…I mean, yes Wilson."

"Good…" He said nodding. "…now you said you were looking for the colonel? How about this, let me just put on my coat and I'll gladly take you to him, sound good?"

"Yup." She said, chirping once more in satisfaction. When she was ordered by Princess Luna about this mission to be the liaison, she was told to keep up her guard. She was told that these creatures might be dangerous, even though they were supposed to be allies. But after her first contact, those warning seemed to be wrong, seeing how friendly they were. In fact, she might have made her first friend!

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><p>Since Equestria remained as a peaceful nation for hundreds of years, the need for a standing army was low. The government decided to choose a peaceful policy against the nation's enemies, which seemed to work till the day the Griffons declared war. Having a standing army, when a nation was always at peace, was said to be a waste of money, so the old army was disbanded 800 years ago, after the last war. The only unit they had to equal an army was the Royal Guard, but they could hardly be called an army, for they were a small elite group whose job was to protect the Princesses. So that left Equestria with no force that would be able to defend it during a war.<p>

This problem occurred to the government before, making them seek for a solution to it. To solve it, they created the Volunteer army, which was said to be an easy solution to face any threat that faced Equestria. The concept of the volunteer army revolves on the idea of having each region in Equestria to create volunteer regiments. These regiments would be composed of volunteers from each region of the nation, who will be trained and fitted with the necessary equipment, before being merged to form armies.

With the volunteer army, ponies would be able to enlist to defend their country and once the war is over return to their homes. It would solve the problem of only having to pay the maintenance of such an army during war and having a force to face the foe.

But the concept was never tested before. Being at piece for hundreds of years, no threat proved to be big enough of volunteers. It had never been put into practice till the day the Griffons declared war. When it was implemented during that war, the Equestrian government was about to learn how hard it was to equip and train ponies, who lived humble and peaceful lives, and turn them into fighting machines.

They never expect the amount of time and preparation to handle the logistics to supply the new regiments that were forming all over Equestria. The numerous amounts of equipment would have to be distributed throughout the land, while qualified instructors, which there were a lack off, must be found. Day by day, new recruits signed up to fight, the small military system of Equestria was starting to show its fault.

* * *

><p>A mint green unicorn walked alongside a pastel colored earth pony, as they walked through the busy camp. The two wore a white coat, which covered the front part of their body and had long sleeves that covered their fore hooves, and had brass buttons and had an emblem of the volunteers, which was the sun and moon. They also had white caps with the insignia '1st PV', which was made from brass, attached on the top. Unlike the Royal Guard, volunteers were given white cloth uniforms and caps instead of the heavy steel armor that the Guards have. This was done for both tactical and logistical reasons. Having uniforms made out of cloth would make it easier for the soldier, seeing that it would be light and more flexible. This would be a good thing, especially with ponies who already had trouble carrying, loading, and firing guns. The other reason was because of the expenses and lack of supplies. It was much easier for the government to supply the army with cloth uniforms rather than steel armor, since it was easier to produce. Steel was hard to get and it took more time to product the armor. It could also be put to better use, in the form of gun barrels, rather than armor that could be easily penetrated by bullets.<p>

As for the color of the uniform, it was used for the benefit of the commander. Bright colored uniforms would make it easier to find out where each unit is, although it does have the down side of making your own units visible to the enemy and making each pony an easy target. But with the amount of smoke created in a battle, along with the confusion that happens, knowing where each unit is placed was a vital thing. The uniforms also help distinguish friend from foe, since the Griffons were said to wear a mash silver and dark blue colored uniforms.

The two looked around them to see the large number of volunteers, who came from Ponyville region, that have gathered at the camp located at the outskirts of the camp. The two ponies had just arrived with the rest of the volunteers and where now trying to find their way to their assigned company. All around them, ponies were grouped in every spot they could find, as sergeants and officers tried to organize them and form companies. This led to a lot of noise, which filled the air, as ponies went around finding their designated company. The camp soon started to look more like a busy market, rather than an organized military camp.

As pony sergeants and officers, who just arrived from Canterlot a few hours before the volunteers, shouted their orders, tall bi-pedal creatures supervised them. The bi-pedal creatures pointed to area to where the volunteers can gather around and guided other on to where they should store the equipment and such.

"Look, Bon-Bon!" The mint green pony shrieked in joy, but her voice was only faint compared to the noise around them, "It's a human! They look just like I thought they would."

Bon-Bon just shook her head as she let out an exasperated sigh. "Lyra, sometimes I think you volunteered for more than one reason."

"What do you mean?" Lyra said, looking at her friend. "I volunteered for the same reason as everpony else, to serve and protect Equestria from the Griffon threat!"

"Well, that may be true, and I'm not questioning your patriotism or anything, but ever since those creatures marched through town, you have done nothing but talk about them and yell 'I told you so' to everypony."

"First off, those creatures are called humans, and from what I have heard, they are also our superiors. They're here to help train us." Lyra stated, as they made their way through the camps that surrounded them. The tents were grouped into small districts, separating different companies. Each company was proclaimed by a wooden sign stating which company it was. "Second, the only reason I was yelling that because it's true. None of you believed me and now I have proof that they are real!"

"Yeah, yeah." Bon-Bon said. "But if they are our superiors, just make sure not to bother them. The last thing I want is to get in trouble because you snuck in one of their tents so that you could observe them. If you get caught doing that, you might get punished and you know that the army doesn't treat disobedience well, volunteers or not." Bon-Bon knew well about her friend's obsession about humans and it always puzzled her on how the unicorn ever found out about them. But if Lyra took her obsession too far, it might lead to trouble.

Bon-Bon knew that the army life was strict with regulation and could be tuff on a pony that had lived a soft life, which was basically everypony who volunteered from the Ponyville region. The town of Ponyville, and the surrounding area, was a peaceful region that barely had struggles, other than the occasional disaster. This meant that they were all relaxed and probably ignorant to the strict protocol of the military. This also meant that training would be a tuff experience for both volunteers and their trainers.

But it must be done. The Princesses had called upon every able bodied stallion and mare to volunteer for the army. So their subjects followed upon the call, managing to raise over a thousand volunteers in the Ponyville region alone. This was enough to form a perfect text book regiment. Combine that with the other regiments from other area, then Equestria would soon have an army.

But an army of volunteers. Volunteers who have no idea how to fight. The instructors, including the humans, would have to give every ounce of knowledge they know so that the volunteer army would be able to face the Griffon army, who have been trained to fight.

Unlike Equestria, the Griffon Empire had a well-trained standing army, which was said to be ferocious in battle. They were also well equipped with the latest weapons and were not so easily scared by the sound of war. The average Griffon soldier has had enough battle experience, from all the wars their empire has fought, to be able to defeat ten ponies. Compare that to the fragile pony who was frightened with almost everything, then one would easily bet their bits on the Griffons.

So it was going to be a tough job to train the ponies and ensure that they won't run away against a charging regiment of Griffons.

"Well here we are, Company F." Lyra said, standing next to the sign.

Bon-Bon looked towards the tents and noticed that there were other ponies there already. The ponies sat in small groups and chatted with each other. They had smiles on their faces and seemed to be relax, without the though military discipline over them. It looked like a warm sight, as if they were all having a picnic and enjoying each other's company. Bon-Bon shook her head, knowing that it would soon change when training begins.

"Hey you two…" Came a friendly voice from the group. "…come and join us, there's plenty of room in here."

"Don't mind if we do." Lyra said cheerfully, urging Bon-Bon forward. "See Bon-Bon, everything here seems fine; I don't know what you're worrying about." She then looked back to the group and smiled. "Hey, is that a sandwich?" She exclaimed. With that, the mint green unicorn joined the group, who were now sharing some of the snacks they brought with them.

Looking at them once more, Bon-Bon could see that they were all happy to be with each other's company. They didn't look worried at the thought of war and seemed to enjoy the fact they were there. It was as if they were in a picnic. Bon-Bon shook her head at the thought.

"Might as well enjoy the peace while it lasts…" She murmured to herself before joining in.

* * *

><p>Colonel Newman stood on top of a hill, which overlooked the camp below. By now, the sun's light was starting to fade, marking the end of the day, as the last recruits entered the camp and pushed their way through the crowd to find their designated companies. Today has been a busy day, with his unit and members of the Royal Guard tasked to shuffle the recruits and try to organize them as best they could. Throughout the day, Newman has been shouting orders and giving commands, trying to organize the ponies to where they should stay and trying to find places to stock valuable supplies. There had been more recruits than he expected and it reminded him of the first muster of his regiment. He had never seen so many ponies in one place before and found it to be both an amazing and strange sight. But no matter how strange it was, he did his job with great efficiency. Now, all the recruits were grouped into companies and were getting cozy with their new tent homes.<p>

He had gotten complaints from some ponies, stating that their beds were uncomfortable and that sleeping on blankets, laid on the ground, wasn't the best idea. Newman replied by only shaking his head and walking away. Those ponies would soon realize that army life, volunteer or not, was not fair.

As his surrounding start to dim and become darker, he could suddenly see the many camp fires that were littered around the camp. Ponies who just met each other or knew each other for a long time now gathered around the fires, relaxing and enjoying the presence of each other. They were now starting to talk and share stories, enjoying the cozy surrounding and their new friends.

They seemed to be enjoying things so far and were relaxed. To them, it seemed that they were here to have fun instead of train. Newman shook his head, for he knew that they would soon be introduce to the horrors of crash course training. With the threat of a Griffon invasion looming around the corner, he and his unit would have to train them as fast as possible. This meant that they would have to pressure them and bring them to the brink. Drilling them constantly until they got everything right.

"Colonel Newman, sir." A familiar voice said. Newman turned around to see a white Pegasus, dressed in the golden armor of the Solar Guard, looking at him and saluting. He saluted back and greeted the young Pegasus.

"Got any news for me, Feather Wing?"

"Yes, sir." Ever since they first met, Feather Wing had grown accustomed to talking to Newman, till it looked like they were friends having a normal conversation. Which was alright for Newman since didn't like having close officers act stiff all the time. So the young pegasus loosened up a bit, till the only formal thing he did was salute and call him 'sir'.

"Reports state that all the volunteers in the Ponyville region have arrived safely. A total of 1045 ponies, distributed to 10 companies. Each company has their own designated sector in camp and has enough tents for everypony. Basically, everything seems fine and handled as best as possible." He finished.

1045 ponies, equivalent to one full regiment during the start of the war, back in America. His regiment started out with a thousand men, but with the tragic horrors of battle and diseases, they were brought down to 400 or so men. He wondered if the same faith would fall upon the ponies and if their innocent lives would be ruined by the horrors and tragedies of war.

He looked back at Feather Wing and noticed the sad look on the pegasus's face, as if he wasn't satisfied at something. "Something wrong, lieutenant?" Newman asked.

Feather Wing shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry for looking a bit down, sir, but it's just…I'm not too confident on the fact that we would be able to train them as proper soldiers."

Newman raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "How so?"

"Well, not to sound a bit grumpy sir, but all I could say is that they all look disorganized. It looked like a market, rather than a military camp, with all the noise and chaos that would make Discord proud. They all seem to think that this is all fun and games and act like they were going camping. I've passed by some of them just joking around and not taking things seriously. They didn't even bother to salute an officer! How are they supposed to learn how to fight, if they don't even know how to salute an officer?" Every word that came out of his mouth seems to show all of his disapproval and disappointment on what he saw.

Newman approached Feather Wing and tried to calm him down. "Now, Feather Wing, you can't really expect them to know all of that immediately. From my experience in training my unit, I learned that the key to training volunteers is patience. They may come here with no clue on how the military works, but they would come out as soldiers who could perfect a drill in their sleep." He reassured him.

"You really think so, sir." Feather Wing said, still not convinced. "Because to me, they all looked like a mob. When we give them guns, then they would look like an armed mob, which is more dangerous to themselves than to the enemy."

"Oh, don't underestimate the power of volunteers, lieutenant." He said, remembering his own soldiers. "My unit, no matter how professional they may look right now, started out as volunteers. I have to admit, I was as doubtful as you when I first saw the volunteers of the 220th, but I knew that I had a task to do. So I drilled them and showed them what I needed them to do. I thought them the basics, explained it to them and made them repeat it constantly. I also showed them respect. It's not easy for them to respect you if you don't respect them."

He looked back down towards the field, to where the quarters of the 220th were. He could see his men gathered around their camp fires and singing songs and enjoying themselves. They looked no different to the ponies who were gathered around camp and in a way they were all the same.

"Now look at them…" He continued. "…they fight as good as any soldier and I trust them with my life, as they trust their lives to me. The point is, any soldier could be trained to do anything, as long as you give them a cause."

"What cause would you tell them to fight for?" The pegasus asked.

"The cause we all love…" Newman said. "…the cause of our nation that we live in and the freedom we all enjoy, yet take for granted." Feather Wing gave a small smile as he heard that.

Feather Wing moved forwards to join him, as the two were soon looking down at the field, the light of the camp fires and the stars above as their only illumination.

"You really think that they would be able to stand up against a fight with the Griffons?" Feather Wing asked, slightly convinced at the probability.

"I know so." Newman said, confidently as he patted Feather Wing on the back. The pegasus gave a slight smile and nodded. "Now go get some sleep…" He continued. "…because tomorrow is going to be another big day. For tomorrow, training begins."

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><p><strong>Well there goes another chapter. If you liked it, you can let me know in the reviews. So with that I would like to thank you for reading and as always, see you in the next chapter.<strong>


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